Sādhana-bhakti

yasya pūrvokte rāga-viśeṣe rucir eva jātāsti

yasya pūrvokte rāga-viśeṣe rucir eva jātāsti, na tu rāga-viśeṣa eva svayaṁ, tasya tādṛśa-rāga-sudhākara-karābhāsa-samullasita-hṛdaya-sphaṭika-maṇeḥ śāstrādi-śrutāsu tādṛśyā rāgātmikāyā bhakteḥ paripāṭīṣv api rucir jāyate | tatas tadīyaṁ rāgaṁ rucyānugacchantī sā rāgānugā tasyaiva pravartate |
(Excerpted from Bhakti Sandarbha: 310)

“One in whom only taste [alt., liking] (ruci) for a specific rāga among the aforementioned [rāgas for Bhagavān, viz., that of a servant, friend, elder, or beloved] has appeared, and not rather a specific rāga itself [i.e., in regard to someone in whom a specific rāga for Bhagavān has not appeared but taste for a specific rāga has]—in that one [i.e., in that type of person], the crystalline jewel of whose heart is brightly shining with the reflection of the rays from the moon of that particular rāga [for which the person has taste], taste appears also for the manners (paripāṭis) of such rāgātmikā-bhakti [i.e., the mental, verbal, and bodily expressions of such rāga] that have been heard about in the śāstra and elsewhere [i.e., from one’s guru or other sādhus]. Then, that rāgānugā [-bhakti] of that one in particular [i.e., of that person in whose heart taste for a specific rāga and its manners of expression (paripāṭis) has appeared], proceeds following a rāga related to him [i.e., Bhagavān, meaning, a specific rāga for Bhagavān of a particular rāgātmikā-bhakta] by means of taste [i.e., by means of the aforementioned taste for a specific rāga and its manners of expression (paripāṭis) that has appeared in this person].”

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tat-tad-abhimāna-lakṣaṇa-bhāva-viśeṣaṇena svābhāvika-rāgasya vaiśiṣṭye

tat-tad-abhimāna-lakṣaṇa-bhāva-viśeṣaṇena svābhāvika-rāgasya vaiśiṣṭye sati tat-tad-rāga-prayuktā śravaṇa-kīrtana-smaraṇa-pāda-sevana-vandanātma-nivedana-prāyā bhaktis teṣāṁ rāgātmikā bhaktir ity ucyate | tasyāś ca sādhyāyāṁ rāga-lakṣaṇāyāṁ bhakti-gaṅgāyāṁ taraṅga-rūpatvāt sādhyatvam eveti, na tu sādhana-prakaraṇe’smin praveśaḥ | ato rāgānugā kathyate |
(Excerpted from Bhakti Sandarbha: 310)

“Since [this] natural (svābhāvika) rāga has distinctiveness [i.e., is of various types] on account of [each of its manifestations having] a distinctive bhāva the characteristic of which is a particular sense of identity (abhimāna) [in relation to Bhagavān, viz., that of being a servant, friend, elder, or beloved of Bhagavān], the bhakti on their part [i.e., on the part of Bhagavān’s personal associates who have one of these senses of identity] beget by a particular rāga [i.e., by a rāga characterized by one of the aforementioned specific senses of identity in relation to Bhagavān] and largely [consisting of] hearing, praising, remembering, serving the feet, and offering obeisances [to Bhagavān] is known as rāgātmikā-bhakti [i.e., bhakti constituted of rāga]. On account of its [i.e., rāgātmikā-bhakti’s] being, in form, [like] waves in the Gaṅgā of bhakti that is possessed of the characteristic of rāga, the goal (sādhya) [i.e., since rāgātmikā-bhakti is constituted of rāga for Bhagavān and expressions of rāga for him, just as waves of the Gaṅgā are made of the Gaṅgā’s water and are expressions of the Gaṅgā, and since rāga for Bhagavān is itself the goal (sādhya), that is, the object to be attained by engaging in sādhana-bhakti], it is itself the goal (sādhya) [i.e., rāgātmikā-bhakti is itself the goal (sādhya), that is, sādhya-bhakti], and thus [it] has no entry into this section on sādhana [i.e., since rāgātmikā-bhakti is itself the goal (sādhya), it will not be discussed further here in Bhakti Sandarbha, where only the abhidheya, that is, the means to attain, viz., the process of sādhana-bhakti, is discussed; rāgātmikā-bhakti will instead be discussed further ahead in Prīti Sandarbha, where sādhya-bhakti is explained in detail]. Therefore, rāgānugā [-bhakti] is [now] discussed.”

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viṣayiṇaḥ svābhāviko viṣaya-saṁsargecchātiśaya-mayaḥ premā rāgaḥ

viṣayiṇaḥ svābhāviko viṣaya-saṁsargecchātiśaya-mayaḥ premā rāgaḥ, yathā cakṣur-ādīnāṁ saundaryādau | tādṛśa evātra bhaktasya śrī-bhagavaty api rāga ity ucyate |
(Excerpt from Bhakti Sandarbha: 310)

“A sensuous person’s natural affinity (svābhāvika-prema) constituted of intense desire for contact with sense objects is [called] rāga [i.e., “attachment”], as in the case of [the natural affinity of] the eye and so forth for beauty and so forth [i.e., of each of the senses for ideal forms of their respective objects]. Something indeed similar [i.e., a similar sort of natural affinity constituted of intense desire] of a bhakta also for Śrī Bhagavān is here [i.e., in the context of rāgātmikā-bhakti] called rāga.”

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Daśa-ślokī

The ten essential verses of Śrī Śrī Govinda-līlāmṛta

By Śrīmad Kṛṣṇa Dāsa Kavirāja Gosvāmīpāda

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tasmād anyad bhagavad-bhajanam api nāpekṣate

tasmād anyad bhagavad-bhajanam api nāpekṣate |
(Bhakti Sandarbha: 237)

“Therefore [i.e., because Hari can become pleased to reveal himself simply in response to guru-bhakti], even other service to Bhagavān is not required [for a sādhaka fully engaged in personal service to his guru].”

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vyavasāyātmikā buddhir ekeha kuru-nandana

vyavasāyātmikā buddhir ekeha kuru-nandana |
bahu-śākhā hy anantāś ca buddhayo’vyavasāyinām ||
(Śrīmad Bhagavad-gītā: 2.41)

“O son of the Kurus, the resolute intellect (buddhi) is one [i.e., one-pointed] in this regard [i.e., in regard to practicing bhakti-yoga]. The intellects of the irresolute, however, are many-branched and endless [i.e., divided between numerous different pursuits and driven by an endless number of worldly desires].”

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ko’ti-prayāso’sura-bālakā harer

ko’ti-prayāso’sura-bālakā harer
upāsane sve hṛdi chidravat sataḥ |
svasyātmanaḥ sakhyur aśeṣa-dehināṁ
sāmānyataḥ kiṁ viṣayopapādanaiḥ ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 7.7.38)

[Translated according to Śrī Jīva Gosvāmī’s commentary:] “O boys of the asuras, what great exertion [i.e., difficulty] is there in worship of Hari, he who is present like space in one’s heart and is the inherent self and common friend of all embodied beings? [Therefore,] What [is the use] of accumulating objects of the senses?”

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bādhyamāno’pi mad-bhakto viṣayair ajitendriyaḥ

bādhyamāno’pi mad-bhakto viṣayair ajitendriyaḥ |
prāyaḥ pragalbhayā bhaktyā viṣayair nābhibhūyate ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 11.14.18; cited in Hari-bhakti-vilāsa: 11.552; Bhakti Sandarbha: 115)

“Although obstructed [i.e., attracted] by objects of the senses (viṣayas), a bhakta of mine who has not [yet] conquered the senses is generally not overwhelmed by objects of the senses (viṣayas) by virtue of vigorous bhakti [i.e., by virtue of bhakti, which possesses the capability to overcome the influence of residual affinities (vāsanās) for varieties of sensory experience].”

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athāsya tad-veśyā-vaktrāc chrī-rādhāyāḥ śrī-kṛṣṇānurāgādi-śravaṇa-jāta-lobhatvād rāgānugā-mārgeṇaiva bhajanam

athāsya tad-veśyā-vaktrāc chrī-rādhāyāḥ śrī-kṛṣṇānurāgādi-śravaṇa-jāta-lobhatvād rāgānugā-mārgeṇaiva bhajanam | tatra rāgānugā-mārge’nutpanna-rati-sādhaka-bhaktair api svepsita-siddha-dehaṁ manasi parikalpya bhagavat-sevādikaṁ kriyate | jāta-ratīnāṁ tu svayam eva tad-deha-sphūrtiḥ | asya tūtpannā madhura-jātīyā ratiḥ krameṇānurāga-daśāṁ prāptāsti, atas tad-deha-sphūrtiḥ sadaiva |
(Sāraṅga-raṅgadā-ṭīkā on Kṛṣṇa-karṇāmṛta: 2)

“His [i.e., Bilvamaṅgala Ṭhākura’s] bhajana was based solely on the rāgānugā-mārga because of his intense desirousness (lobhatva) produced by hearing about Śrī Rādhā’s anurāga and so forth for Śrī Kṛṣṇa from the mouth of the courtesan [i.e., Cintāmaṇi]. There in rāgānugā-mārga, even by sādhaka-bhaktas in whom rati has not [yet] manifested, service and so forth to Bhagavān is performed by meditating in the mind upon one’s desired siddha-deha. For those in whom rati has manifested, however, manifestation (sphūrti) of that deha [i.e., the siddha-deha] occurs of its own accord [i.e., without requiring any specific effort from the sādhaka to meditate upon it]. His [i.e., Bilvamaṅgala Ṭhākura’s] manifest rati of the madhura-type, however, gradually attained the stage of anurāga [even though this is normally impossible for anyone within saṁsāra apart from those who participate directly in Bhagavān’s prakaṭa-līlā], and thus manifestation of that deha [i.e., the siddha-deha] became constant [in his mind].”

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